Existance in Harlan County nearly a century ago was hard and against tremendous odds. The winters were bitter and the comforts were few, but the hale and hearty ancestors came through. They went about working with mallets, clubs and relied heavily on the old faithful ax.

"Uncle" George Ball, who is nearing his 92nd birthday, vividly recalls the early days and the struggle the county had to survive.

Four of the orginal families in Mount Pleasant were those of Cam Hurst, Bill Turner, Ben Rice and Lewis Farmer. The homes, of course, were all made of logs. Cam Hurst lived at the corner near the Baptist Church on "the rise."

Bill Turner's home was near the old jail where Scotts store is today, and Ben Rice lived "out there on the bank near the river." He put up a saw mill and cut the lumber for the second court house.

Helped Make Road

The family of Lewis Farmer resided on the cornor where Lee's Drug Store is today. Ball lived out on Catron's Creek--matter of fact, he lives there today.

"I helped make that road," he said. He also told of raising 100 head of sheep and 100 head of geese.

"We picked the geese and sold the feathers," he said. "They make the finest feather beds you ever saw," Ball said proudly. The sheep were sheared and the wool was combed, carded and woven into flax by the women folk. They spun it into "lindsey."

The best garments were made of "lindsey." Shoes and boots were a big problem in the early days. Will Blanton, who lived near Wallins, made boots and sold them. He worked with his "last," hammer and nails in a corner of his home. Folks rode horse back to the Blanton home to "get fitted up for boots."

The "brought on" shoes were a little finer. They had buttons on them. A shoe button hook was a necessity around the house at that time. Some of the shoes had raw hide strings.

"We raised everything we used," Ball said "but we had to come to town for coffee, calico and a few articles."

Fresh meat was always plentiful. Every old-timer's smoke house was filled. some of them kept it hanging on the porch. Uncle George told how his grandmother, Ellen Ball, more than 100 years ago felled a big 400 pound bear with a single shot.

His grandfather was away from home at the time. A big bear came down out of the hill near their home on Catron's Creek. A neighbor was at the home with Mrs. Ball

Slays Bear

"She ran for the rifle and placed it on the shoulder of the neighbor and fired," he related, and shot the bear.

When "Uncle" George was a small boy, he recalled that General Brittain had his cattle "away up on Catron's Creek," cutting bud trees for them to eat when he was attacked by a panther. "Uncle" George's grandfather, Mose Ball, saw the panther and shot it before it could reach General Brittain.

The roads here in town were cut out by wagon wheels and hardly dried out through the winter. The people filled the ruts with ashes and rocks and the wagons rumbled over them. A little "walking path" in front of the stores was all they had for a side walk until later when boards were made into a walk.

Sunday September 13, 1953

Volume 52 Number 213

Pages 1 & 8

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